“I think Lohan has more natural talent than Monroe did, but like Monroe, her weakness is her inability to fake it,” he says.

“Monroe and Lohan exist in the space between actors and celebrities,” he continues. “People whose professional and personal performances are more or less indistinguishable. … We call them ‘troubled,’ ‘tormented,’ ‘train wrecks,’ but we can’t turn away. We can’t stop watching. They get under our skin in a way that controlled performers can’t.”

For that reason, Schrader say, working with Lindsay was worth it in the end.

The Canyons will have its world premiere at The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York on July 20, and will be available On Demand on August 2 and in theaters on August 9. It will also screen at the Venice Film Festival, which takes place from August 28 to September 7.